There Are Ways, and Then There Are Ways
by ResidentGreed
Summary: Hired by an unknown person simply known as 'Chief', a small group of former Umbrella 'employees' decided to help out with the ruination of their previous employers. How? By making sure the S.T.A.R.S. stay alive long enough to bring the corporation down.


Hello, ResidentGreed here, and I must say it's a pleasure. Finally after ages of editing others and their stories, I've finally acquired the courage to submit my own little idea which hopefully won't be _that_ bad.

A few things that might be of interest and for your reading know-how:

**a) **I'm going to be using the S.D. Perry novelizations (yes there are books based off of Resident Evil) as a reference mainly because my Resident Evil games, save RE 4 and Outbreak 1 & 2, have been "relocated" without my knowledge or permission. All I can say is I hate moving and more importantly, I hate moving and letting someone else pack everything.

**b) **I wish to ask that all Original Character's stay mine unless otherwise requested for and approved by me; I know the unlikely hood of anyone actually borrowing without asking, but still… it's a preemptive measure and it makes me feel better.

**c) **I'll be making references to RE 0, but don't expect any chapters on it; I haven't played it and I don't plan on doing so; I have my reasons. Also I might also be making references to some events/ characters in the Outbreak set, but it is not set in stone yet so don't worry if you don't like either of those games, it's still under debate.

**d) **I will be trying my hardest to keep this as close to the original timeline as best as humanly possible. So if something just doesn't add up to you or if I goofed on a location or something similar, feel free to call me on it with the appropriate actions provided of course.

**e) **If you wish to review, feel free to and by all means please, but all that I ask is that if you have to criticize do so politely and preferably in the Queen's English. I do not speak ghetto, slang, text, all caps, or no punctuation, so humor me in my ignorance of these common "languages".

**Disclaimer**: I do not, unfortunately, own any part of Resident Evil - it's under sole ownership of CAPCOM and its respective affiliates. Besides of which if I did own any part of it, I would have revealed who that dark haired guy is in all of the RE 5 teasers awhile ago.

Hope you enjoy; Cheers! - R.G.

**Prologue**

"Why am I always the one to get stuck with the shitty jobs?" the man muttered quietly from behind his gas mask. He was dressed in black combat/riot gear and if it wasn't for the fact he had seen first hand what the 'carriers' could do to a person without the gear on, he would have stripped off his tactical jacket and be walking around with just his bullet proof vest on as for upper body protection right about now. But rules were rules (not that he was a stickler for them, it was just that image of 'Dog's recently tanned skin being ripped off of his arms before being thoroughly devoured wasn't exactly leaving him alone) and he could deal with the slight discomfort for a while longer. After all, he only had to find the Blue Jewel then re-hide it in a more conspicuous spot for which ever one of the Special Tactics and Rescue Squad was desperate enough to find it later on, and then he was done for the night and on his way back to Raccoon City for some much needed R&R. Thank God.

"'Cat' you there?" a muffled voice asked through the static of his earpiece. It sounded like the electronics chick, 'Mouse', but it could have also been the Spanish-Italian girl, 'Queen'. Not that it really mattered; they were the only two women in the group and they were the only two who ever made radio contact with anyone. Everyone else just seemed to either bump into each other, or pass each other in the halls with a slight nod.

"Yeah, what do you need?" he replied casually while he rustled through some papers on a nearby desk. He knew the Jewel was in here somewhere, he was almost 100 positive of it, but with the room looking like a disaster zone before he had come in, it wasn't exactly easy or encouraging. Maybe it was a different room on this hallway or maybe underneath one of the upturned tables or-

Bingo! Grinning despite himself, he moved some papers aside and picked up the faux gem and after verifying it with a schematics printout, he slipped it into one of his pants pocket. He knew he hadn't been seeing things when he had been shown the original video from this room (when the researchers were going insane thanks to a small quirk of the virus) and had seen someone chuck something under all these papers. Even if a Snickers candy bar would have been a nice find, this gem just made sure he got his paycheck this week.

"'King' wants to know how if you remembered what 'Chief' said about the shark down in the labs- he says he's drawing a blank and can't remember," the now more feminine sounding voice asked nonchalantly. Had to be 'Mouse'; she was the only one not on the actual property and also the only one who wasn't sounding slightly haggard by the three days they had been there. Hell, the last time he had seen 'Snake' the man had been near hysterics and even the Indonesian tough guy 'Colt' had looked exhausted.

"Yeah, 'Chief' said to leave it alone and alive; that, that area is pretty straight forward and only a complete and total dunce wouldn't figure out how to work the emergency drainage valve. That's what he said more or less."

"Okay," was the short reply before he heard the line switching over to 'King', no doubt. Sighing, he took out his orders and after scanning the page, he found where he was suppose to deposit his find. A statue in the second floor dining room, huh? Mentally going through the mansions maze-like layout he figured he could take the main staircase and check in on 'Colt' and 'Snake' if they were still up there on his way.

"Oh, hey 'Cat', what's your status? For the record," 'Mouse' asked, apparently switching back to him.

"I just retrieved the Blue Jewel and I'm on my way to put it in the second floor dining room," he said making his way back to the door, and pulling out his nine millimeter out of its holster at the same time, "then hauling my ass to the nearest bar or shower, which ever one's closest. Why?"

"Well 'Queen' needs some help laying out all the ammunition and herbs that the S.T.A.R.S. will be needing if they want to get out of here in something resembling one piece and she was wondering if-"

"- If whoever was done could go and help her out before they leave?" he finished with a sigh as he stepped out into the hallway. He looked around, and seeing no 'carriers' or 'Cerberuses', the beloved zombie dogs, he started to his left for the main stair way, "Where is she?"

He heard a sound of relief come from 'Mouse' before she relayed, "She's on the first floor, right wing facing east."

That made him stop dead in his tracks. Quirking an eyebrow, he turned around then checked his own position. He was facing East, on the ground floor and in the right corridor so… "Hey, 'Mouse'? Tell 'Queen' to go into the hallway, would you?"

"Uh… Why?" was her confused response.

"Just do it," he replied with a sigh. Jeez, why do women have to know everything about a simple comment? Couldn't they just do something for the sake of being told to do it? This was a reason why he wasn't particularly fond of working with girls; they always needed an answer and if they didn't get one, to Hell with you. Shrugging, he waited for 'Mouse' to relay his message, while his mind continued to mull over his more then chauvinistic attitude to working with women in this particular field of work. They either were married to a pro and did that whole 'team-work' shtick, like 'King' and 'Queen'; or they had a major feminist- militant attitudes and four out of five of them were lesbians- the other one just had a simple ugly duckling complex and would die a drunken virgin undoubtedly; or they knew exactly what they were doing and had no qualms about doing anything to get what they wanted; A.K.A. the Ada Wong type, who were nice in bed but a real bitch in the field. Thinking of Ada reminded him of something; one of the researcher's here also had the experience of having a nice romp with the Asian agent, John something-or-other, and the poor guy actually thought she gave a damn about him. Cracking a grin behind his mask, he wondered how the ole girl would take that one.

A creaking door snapped him from his thoughts and he watched as the Spanish-Italian _Bonita_ peeked out of a room, less then five yards from where he stood. Grin widening, he watched amusedly as her eyes narrowed at him in annoyance and a small frown formed. Why she had taken off her mask when the mansions cameras were still transmitting was beyond him, but he wasn't about to tell her that. She wanted to get caught, tortured, and killed, fine by him, as long as she didn't get him killed in the process.

"A little 'Mouse' told me you needed some help. So, voilá, here I am," he said, still with his hidden grin, spreading his hands apart with a casual shrug. The cocky attitude was sudden, and it surprised even him a bit; but as long as it got the reaction necessary, he could deal. Besides, it kept up an emotional buffer of sorts that prevented any unnecessary feelings from developing. If he was going to die here, it was already set in stone well in advance and he didn't need to explain to the big guy upstairs why someone else tagged along with him, trying to play hero but ended up getting killed in the process. So as long as he was general unpopular with his teammates, they wouldn't do anything stupid. He already had enough guilt from the people from his past who had tried, and he was sick and tired of dealing with new weights; there were only so many women he could bed to forget for a while, and only so many shot glasses he could drink to lessen the pain and muffle the screams.

"You… Jerk!" 'Queen' nearly shrieked at him, her annoyance flashing through her gorgeous brown eyes like lightning across a desert, "Why didn't you just tell 'Mouse' that you were right next door? God, I swear you're a total-"

"Do you want help or not, your _Highness_?" he interrupted more coldly then he had wanted. But with her look of surprise then anger, he figured it was for the best, "Cause if you don't, I've got my job to finish, and a hot shower waiting for me in town."

"You bastard," was all she muttered before pulling a black duffel bag from beyond his line of vision and practically shoving it in his face, "just distribute this on the second floor sporadically, alright?"

Another grin crossed his face and was more then obvious in his voice when he replied, "Yes your _Highness_." With that, he grabbed the fabric handles, effortlessly lugged it over a shoulder and went back down the corridor for the main lobby of the Spencer estate, leaving a fuming 'Queen' behind.

God if it weren't for 'King' telling her specifically that, that 'Cat' guy was important she would have sniped his ass the moment they all had gone their separate ways. Watching him go, she felt an all too familiar sensation, similar and probably stemming from a vengeful past, and she wanted him dead right then. Just to fall over dead, where he stood, bam! But he kept walking, and before too long, he rounded the corner and was gone. Damn the man and his swift stride.

"'Mouse'?" she asked quietly into her mike, while running a hand through her long dark brown hair. Vaguely, she remembered she had her own shower waiting in town for her too. Hopefully it was one that 'King', her husband and former boss, wouldn't mind joining her in. She had barely seen him since they had started distribution and relocation here and she was starting to miss him.

"Yeah?"

"I really hate that guy."

"… I know."

"Why is he working with us?" she quietly exploded. Now, she knew, was not the perfect time to vent, but she couldn't help it, "Why is he so important that 'Chief' wanted him on our side? He has no ties to Umbrella. He hasn't suffered from anything they've done. He hasn't lost anyone close to him, if anyone ever has been close to that jackass. So why?" Her hate and anger was slowly slipping away from her, and leaving her feeling helplessly frustrated and confused; two things she didn't do easily.

This was their fight, not his. He shouldn't be here; he's practically a civilian. He's nothing but an arrogant asshole who thinks he knows everything. Like Dr. Wesker; thinking they know everything about everyone, thinking they're superior to those around them because of one little thing. Dr. Wesker's had been his ultimate genius; just because he and Dr. Birkin could ratify an already existing mutagen into a highly toxic and lethal weapon, he thought he could get away with murder. And probably had on several occasions too come to think of it. She had heard the rumors about old Dr. Marcus, and how both Birkin and he had been his students, his '_understudies_', before his sudden and unexplainable demise at the training facility. The same training facility they had scoped out just last week and planted the necessary equipment before losing two members of their team to the now revived Marcus and his controllable leech colony. But what 'Cat's was, what ever made him think he was better, she didn't know and right now she could care less.

"…'Queen'," came 'Mouse's suddenly soft voice, "just leave him alone. We got our orders and if we don't finish this tonight, we'll all get caught. And I don't want to explain to 'Chief' why I'm the only one not bullet ridden or infected. So just leave him alone and get back to what you were doing."

That's when it finally hit her. 'Mouse' knew something; of course. She did background checks on all of them dozens of times out of sheer boredom, and had more then once almost gotten them caught by hacking into the CIA and FBI's main web frame and data search engines. But… she knew 'Mouse'; they had gone to high school together and had been close friends since what had happened to them recently, so… why hadn't she told her?

"'Mouse'-" she started, thinking of a way to get the now wanted information out of the woman on the other line, but something interrupted her. Something that sounded like-

"What the Hell was that?" she asked to no one in particular. But when she heard 'Mouse' click over, she let her other duffel bag, full of ammo boxes and magazines, herbs and paper work, fall on the inside of the room she was in. Maybe somebody thought 'Cat' was a 'carrier' and had shot him; smiling, she wished it for be true, even though she knew already that that wasn't the case. As much as she hated to admit it, 'Cat' seemed too smart for that.

He was a strategist of sorts, and excellent in reconnaissance and stealth, or so 'King' and 'Chief' had mentioned to her. She had yet to be witness to any of what her husband and current employer had told her about him, but it wasn't for lack of keeping her eyes open and watching him like a hawk that's for sure.

"'Queen'? 'Snake's in trouble in the main lobby, though he won't tell me what's going on," 'Mouse' told her sounding annoyed. Ah, if it wasn't the other man she wouldn't mind personally blowing the balls off of. She didn't know which one of them pissed her off more; 'Cat' and his amazingly annoying attitude and lack of respect, or 'Snake's inability to understand she didn't want to have sex with him. At least 'Cat' hadn't tried hitting on her yet, or copping a feel on 'accident'.

"Alright, I'm on my way. I needed a break from this anyway," was her quietly reply before running to the main lobby

After giving the shout out to everyone on the estate that 'Snake' the creep needed assistance, 'Mouse' sighed heavily and took her headphones off for a minute. God what a headache this was turning out to be. It sounded so easy when they first had been hired on. A simple put this item here and this item there, kind of thing. But after a week and a half of moving things around, she could definitely attest for her colleagues that this was a pain in the ass.

Losing both 'Dog' and 'Bear' right off the bat in the training facility had been a harsh and somewhat low blow, and not to sound cold hearted or anything, but it seemed as if it was almost _necessary_ for them to die when they did. She just had that feeling that if they specifically hadn't been the point men, the ones to go in first, and had opened the doors when they did, the current situation would be vastly different. Thinking back to it, she remembered how 'Cat' had calmly told her what was happening, a practical blow by blow amidst the gunshots he and 'King' shortly there after issued to the carriers. Shuddering as the chill that swept through her at the images her mind had conjured with his words almost made her glad she wasn't much of a shot. Otherwise she would have been there, and throwing up in front of her colleagues was not something she wanted to do. But still, even then, the feeling that their deaths hadn't been some accidental coincidence had been rolling around her gut unleashed.

Dimly, she thought she could toss that idea across either 'King' or 'Cat', who wasn't as bad as 'Queen' seemed to think. Sure, he was quiet and generally reserved, but with his background, it was amazing he even talked at all, let alone joke with them (well, her, 'Colt' and 'King' anyways), in her opinion. But then again, 'Queen' wasn't one to like change, and when 'Chief' had recently brought the young man on without any warning, it was only natural for her to be highly defensive and suspicious; she had been like that in high school too, if she remembered correctly. And the fact that 'Cat' was purposefully doing certain things to piss off the former female researcher wasn't helping things either. Honestly, she had lost count of how many times 'Cat' said or did something that required 'King' to drag his wife from the room before she killed someone. But as long as 'King' or 'Chief' kept their mouths shut, they would continue to keep up the child-like antics. Sometimes, while she listen to them fight and exchange verbal barbs, she could understand why her own mother had hated it when she and her older brother had fought and started calling motherhood 'babysitting'.

Sighing heavily, she dismissed those thoughts and put her headphones back on, her light green eyes catching a glimpse of the neon red time and date.

12: 07 am; July 23rd, 1998.


End file.
